During the morning of Wednesday, 10th January 1917 this No.46 Reserve Squadron, Royal Flying Corps aeroplane took off from Bramham Moor aerodrome and was flown in the general area of the aerodrome. After thirty five minutes flying it was seen to make an approach to land in a snow storm but the approach was made at too great a speed and the pilot attempted to fly an overshoot. It crossed the aerodrome at low height but did not initially begin to climb. Having overflown the aerodrom it climbed slightly but not enough by the time it reached an area of woodland. The left wing caught the times of trees causing it to crash to flew into a tree and crashed at Bramham Moor. The wreckage caught fire and both crew were killed. One of the first on the scene, if not the first, was 2Lt Thomas Hugo French RFC who gave evidence at the inquests of the two killed, sadly he was to be killed in another F.E.2d crash near Bramham just three days later. What he stated at the inquest was published in newspapers; he said that "Opening up the engine to go round again, and with the aircraft six to eight feet off the ground, the pilot appeared to leave his climb too late to clear a wood. A wing tip caught the top of the trees. The machine then rose above the trees until it lost all speed, and then nose dived into the ground, catching fire on impact." Which wood the aeroplane flew into is not mentioned in the available information. The deaths of the men was registered at Wetherby which would suggest it was on the western to northern side of the aerodrome. A small triangular shaped piece of woodland on Spen Common Lane, just off the western side of the aerodrome that existed at the time could have been where the aeroplane crashed.
Pilot - Capt Rowland Burdon RFC, aged 23. Buried Castle Eden Churchyard, Durham.
Pilot (passenger) - Lt Frederick Harry Turner MC RFC, aged 20. Buried High Wycombe Cemetery, Buckinghamshire.
Rowland Burdon was born on 6th February 1893 and was the son of Col. Rowland Burdon, The Castle, Castle Eden. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. He initially served in the Durhams Pals Battalion that his father was instrumental in raising, before transferring to the RFC in 1915. Following pilot training he was awarded a Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate (Cert.No.1698) on 5th September 1915. He had served in France in April 1916 with the RFC where he was wounded. He returned to England and was later posted to No.46 Squadron, probably to serve as an instructor. A memorial window was later created in Castle Eden Church in his name.
Frederick Turner was born on 8th August 1896 at High Wycombe and was the son of Frederick and Rosa Turner, of Highcroft, High Wycombe. He attended High Wycombe Grammar School. He initially received a commissioned in the Gloucestershire Regiment in December 1914 and served in France from August 1915. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Loos in 1916, Gazetted on 3rd June 1916. He transferred to the RFC in Summer 1916 and would presumably have been a pupil pilot at the time of his death.